Walking on Ice
by Kikushi
Summary: Neji, the anti-social loner, is sent out on a long-term mission to track and kill a powerful ninja on the run. On the way, he meets a girl bandit, two hopeless losers with a dog, and... a girl who has his eyes? NejiTen. Some NaruHinaKiba.
1. Prologue: How They Met

**Disclaimer:** _Yup, I own it... No! Wait- I don't! It was a joke!!...Don't sue meeee! Nooooo!_

**Summary:** _Neji is sent out on a long-term mission to track and kill a powerful ninja on the run. But what's this? A girl bandit who wishes to travel with him? NejiTen._

**Note:** _Might be a one-shot. It depends on my pretty reviewers._

* * *

**Walking on Ice**

**By: Kikushi**

"Neji Hyuuga!" she bellowed, her voice undertaking its professional tone, "You have sworn to undertake this solo mission and complete it under any circumstances, even with your life at risk. Go forward, and report to me within a month!"

"Hai, Tsunade-sama."

And so he went, taking whatever possessions he had that he felt necessary to take along with him. News proved to travel fast in his dreary little village of Konoha, for not one step did he take on the gravel outside his house gate, when his ninja friends appeared at his side. They congratulated him, of course, and constantly reminded him as they had done many weeks before about how grand the mission was. He had been the lucky draw, they said, and what an honor to be going on this important, long-term solo mission that they had dreamed about getting. Neji said his thanks, stating that he was rather in a hurry, and made his way, ignoring the looks he received from the well-gossiped villagers. On a rather personal level, Neji Hyuuga was not at all pleased to be going, an honor or not. He was satisfied all by his lonesome inside the comforting familiarity of his much-too-big house and preferred to waste away his days locked up in one of the many rooms of his manor, rereading one of his many, thick books.

Simply put, Neji Hyuuga was a single, lonely man and in denial of his current state.

It was true that he was pretty to look at, and he was indeed the object of many girls' desire. However, upon closer inspection, it became a wide-known fact that the lonely man had quite a displeasing personality. Not only was he un-conversational, unromantic, and un-gentlemanly, but he often left in the middle of dates to sulk back to his manor, unaccompanied, of course, in a fit of denial about how happy he was all alone. Indeed.

And so presently, he jumped from tree to tree, making his way to the location of the first lead Konoha had of this powerful ninja. Surely, other villages had sent their own ninjas in order to capture this dangerous one on the loose, meaning more competition for Neji. He frowned and sulked more at the thought.

At approximately twelve miles away from Konoha, a soft, almost indecipherable rustling snapped Neji out of his self-absorbed thoughts, causing him to hesitate onwards to his destination. He was stationed on a thick branch on a rather tall tree and could not find the source of the small noise when it sounded a second time, with an added dialogue.

"Oww…" A noise below, on the forest floor.

In a rapid state of paranoia, Neji quickly drew to the conclusion that he was, in fact, being followed, and blindly let fly one of his many shurikens towards the offending noise. Dull thuds reached his ears, shurikens hitting the ground in failed attempt. Silence followed.

Neji, convinced he was no longer being pursued, turned to go when—

"HEY!"

Such a loud and boisterous sound it was that Neji almost fell from the branch. It was an unfamiliar sound to his ears, that of a maiden screaming. At him. It was a low, rich voice. Sort of melodic, Neji mused, if sung with; however, it was presently in obvious fury at the fact that he had directed an attack towards its owner.

"You NUT HEAD! Get DOWN from there and show yourself!"

_Nut head?_ He wondered, _how absurd._

"NOW!"

Curious but cautious, he permitted himself to crane his neck an inch to the side, aimed downwards at his verbal attacker. It was not so much as following her shouted demand, but from his blossoming curiosity. He spotted two dark brown buns on a small head before returning his own head back to its hidden state.

_A child?_

Assured that he was not in any immediate danger, Neji jumped from his hiding spot, almost floating in the air before landing on the forest floor gracefully.

"So it was YOU!" an accusing voice from behind.

Neji turned around to finally introduce the mystery person to his eyes, apologies and excuses ready on the tip of his tongue, when he saw her. He closed his mouth, unable to speak.

There she was, and she was certainly _not_ a child. She had a naturally pale face, her cheeks angrily flushed in a soft, pretty pink. Her dark brown hair, twinkling magically in the sunlight, was in a state of disarray, loose strands slipping almost majestically from its position atop either side of her head. Her long, thin brows were furrowed in anger, and her honey-brown eyes shone with much resolve. In her hand she held a kunai steadfastly, as if ready to arm herself. She was garbed in a pink sleeveless top, followed by short black shorts. Her long creamy legs boasted in triumph in Neji's eyes and he noticed the way her left ankle seemed to bend in a disturbing, unnatural way. He studied her situation then, seated amongst a pile of wayward leaves in a most elegant sort of position, trying to maintain her dignity when she so obviously could not stand.

_She's twisted her ankle_, Neji thought in wonder.

"He-llo? Are you just going to stand there when there's a damsel in apparent distress here?"

Neji looked at her angry face stoically, "You twisted your ankle."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious."

Unaffected, Neji approached her. "Do you need help?"

"ARE YOU FREAKIN' BLIND?"

Startled, Neji stopped, mid-step. Here he was, acting chivalrous and gentlemanly for maybe the first time in his life, and this girl was screaming at him. Did she not want his help?

He heard an exasperated sigh from said girl. "Yes," she said, and her tone was much softer, "I do need help. Please."

He kneeled down next to her and saw, to his displeasure, that she was eyeing him calculatingly, most untrustingly, and dripping with suspicions. "You know," she began conversationally, to ease the tension, "in my immobile state, you almost killed me."

"My apologies."

"Yeah, well, your 'apologies' won't grant me another life if you hadn't missed me-EEEOW!!"

Neji had moved her ankle in examination, and in pain, the girl jumped back from his grasp, her kunai waving threateningly in his direction, and her ankle throbbing even more painfully from her jump. "YOU FOOL!" she screamed at him, her eyes tearing slightly in obvious pain, "You sick old FOOL!"

Neji sighed loudly, "How am I supposed to help you, when you won't let me come near you?"

Glaring, she stuck her tongue out at him. He did not know whether he found it amusing.

"Look," Neji started icily, finally losing some of his patience, "let's just start over. My name is Neji. Neji Hyuuga."

After a breath of hesitation and a short silence, the girl spoke softly. "Tenten... Just Tenten."

"Tenten," Neji repeated, momentarily left breathless by her name, "Okay… Tenten. Look, can you just—"

But no, she 'couldn't just', because suddenly there, out of nowhere (_Why did I not sense them? _Neji wondered in anger), three ninjas flew at them from out of the bushes nearby. It was obviously a team sent on a mission. The group leader, Neji assumed, stood proud and tall in the middle, his untidy blond hair whipping behind him in the breeze. On his commanding right stood a rather scary and unappealing kunoichi with short, spiky brown hair, and on his left, a thin, pale man with a black blindfold stood quietly.

"Ugh, damn! Not now!"

Neji spared the girl a glance, and by the grimace on her face, it was obvious to Neji that Tenten could not move to defend herself. As he readied himself for attack, Tenten's voice drifted to his ears.

"No! You can't handle all three by yourself! They're sand-nins!"

Neji's eyes widened in surprise. _Ninjas from the Sand Village? What are they doing in Konoha Forest? They are trespassing!_

"Give up! This is the end of the line for you," roared the tall, muscular man with untidy blond hair, his eyes locked on Tenten. The girl at his left snarled in an almost animal-like manner. "Shut up, Haribi, let's kill her now!"

It was in a blink of an eye, and in eye-watering pain, that Tenten found herself being carried almost intimately against the chest of her savior, his long, dark brown hair flowing behind him, and his pale eyes staring blankly ahead in concentration as he ran with an almost sickening speed.

Tenten tried to speak, but found that her mouth had gone dry, and tried again. She tugged gently on the collar of his shirt, and had they been in a different situation, Neji would have thought the action adorable.

"Where are we going?"

He glanced down at her briefly, "Konoha Village."

Tenten felt her jaw drop slightly. "But- wait- w-what?!" she spluttered, "Hold on! That's a village! There are many people there—"

"There are many guards and Leaf Ninjas stationed within a three-mile radius of the village," Neji replied, cutting her off. "Once we cross that radius, _your _pursuers will halt in their chase."

Tenten noticed how he had said '_your_ pursuers' instead of 'our', but decided not to comment on it. She was unsure herself whether the sand ninjas would really stop, but as if sensing her uncertainty, Neji answered her unspoken questions. "There was a time, after a long-forgotten war, that the Village of the Hidden Leaf and the Sand Village signed a treaty that banned members of each land inside their homes. They are already trespassing by entering the forest, but they will not show themselves near the village. It will spark unnecessary war… and I am sure that the Sand Village cannot afford that right now."

Tenten was quiet for a while, and then, "Why? I mean, why can't they afford war right now?"

Neji grunted, "Hm. We were informed that a powerful ninja recently swept through the town… They had many losses."

Tenten fell silent, and they travelled in silence for the rest of the way, sensing that their pursuers were lagging tremendously. After a long while, Neji spoke, "We're almost there."

Tenten looked up at him. "Mr. Hyuuga?" Then seeing the face he made, hastily corrected herself, "Neji. Why are you helping me?"

And Neji had no reply to give, because given his daily routines, helping out a 'damsel in distress' was certainly unheard of from him, of all people. No matter how distressed the damsel.

_They can be in labor, for all I care_, Neji thought snidely, _but I probably wouldn't help… I wouldn't want to get involved._

And here he was, being Mr. Hypocrite, damsel in distress in tow.

"I need to report this to the Lady Hokage anyway," Neji said coldly, avoiding her questioning stare, "You were just a _bonus_."

Tenten did not know whether she should slap said savior on the face, but then again, his hand might have an accidental 'slip' and she could go plummeting downwards some frightful ten feet to the ground. With her twisted ankle, she might as well try drowning herself. Less pain, right?

"But at least I'm a _pretty_ bonus," Tenten hissed, unable to help herself.

"And you," Neji said acidly, raising a delicate eyebrow at her response, and slowing down measurably now that the sand nins have stopped, "have _some_ explaining to do."

Tenten winced. Oh, boy.

* * *

...!!

_Hahaha! My reviewers, it is up to you whether you want it to go on or not. Any suggestions and comments are welcome!_


	2. The Journey Begins

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto._

_**A/N:** Another update! That was fast, huh? There isn't much NejiTen action in here, but next chapter will be more promising, I hope._

* * *

**Walking on Ice**

**By: Kikushi**

"Neji."

She called him for the millionth time.

"Neji."

Never in his life had he wanted to strangle anyone more.

"Nejiiii."

Why can't the girl just learn how to keep her mouth shut?

"Neji-kun."

This has gone on long enough.

"Neji-wedgie…"

_What in Konoha did she just CALL him?_

"NEJIIII—?"

"WHAT _IS IT_, TENTEN?!" the Neji in question roared, his patience finally diminishing. They had been walking for hours without rest, as he strictly insisted on not stopping. The girl had started calling him fifteen minutes ago, which he blatantly ignored. He was sure that she was just going to make another request that they stop for the night, the sun was already too low, and it was getting dark… blah, blah, blah. But to Neji's dismay, she had not given up, and fully insisted on his attention.

Unfazed, Tenten smiled, "Neji, we should stop for the night. The sun is already too low and it's getting dark."

_Wow, I didn't see that coming_, Neji thought snidely.

"I don't know why you're in such a bad mood," Tenten continued when he did not reply, "It's not like I _wanted_ to go with you."

He turned to look at her. "Then leave. Now."

Tenten sighed dramatically and walked past him, shaking her head. "I'm afraid I can't. See, according to your Hokage, you need my help. Badly. Really, _really badly_." She turned her head slightly to smirk at him.

He shot her a murderous glare, his chakra almost visible around him, but said nothing.

"You see," Tenten continued, fully enjoying herself, "I'm a sucker for _hopeless_ guys."

"If only you were capable of defending yourself, I'd leave you behind right now," Neji hissed angrily.

Tenten laughed. "Oh! So you're a sucker for hopeless girls. Aren't we a perfect match?"

When he ignored her, Tenten resorted to humming, and Neji replayed the events of yesterday in his head.

--

"_Thank you, Neji, for coming back to report this. I sent someone to give word to the Kazekage and Jonins are already scouting the woods for the intruders."_

"_Hai, Tsunade-sama. If that is all—"_

"_No. Wait," Tsunade fixed her eyes on the girl standing next to him, her gaze curious, "I believe we have one more matter to take care of."_

_They both stared at Tenten, and realizing that she should say something, fidgeted slightly for the right words to say._

"_Um… H-hai, Hokage-sama?"_

"_Why were these ninja after you?" Tsunade asked without stalling._

_Tenten looked away, "W-well," she cleared her throat almost business-like and continued, "I have no family and no money, you see… And I was caught..."_

_Tsunade leaned back in her chair, looking almost relieved. "Ah," she sighed in understanding, "So we have a bandit in our hands."_

"_N-no, no!" cried Tenten, waving her hands in front of her, "I was just _permanently_ borrowing," she said in her defense. She looked innocent, as though she thought nothing wrong of what she had just said._

_Tsunade let out a boisterous laugh. "Permanently borrowing?" But then her face turned somber. "I would really love to just let it go, but it's really hard to believe that you were being followed by three sand-nins just for that."_

_Tenten bit her lip in deep thought and she was silent for a while. "True," she finally said, and her voice was very soft, "I overheard them talking about their mission. I said in exchange for a meal, I'd give them some information that I had... when they weren't looking, I ran."_

_The air in the room suddenly became heavy and tense._

"_What was their mission?" Tsunade asked seriously._

_Tenten frowned, "It was some kind of assassination mission… or something. They were ordered by the Kazekage to kill this powerful ninja on the run, I think."_

_Tsunade and Neji exchanged glances._

"_A-and what," Tsunade said, trying to keep her voice steady, "information do you know?"_

_Tenten fidgeted, playing with her hands and stalling. "Well, it's kind of hard to say it. That's why I ran away. You see, it's not information I can just say."_

"_Try," Tsunade commanded impatiently._

_The girl took a deep breath. "I know how this ninja looks like."_

_--_

Neji sighed, feeling a headache coming. He stole a glance at the girl walking slightly ahead of him, her delicate footsteps in rhythm with her humming. _How would she know how this ninja looks like?_ Neji wondered for what seemed like the hundredth time. Unconsciously, his thoughts returned to yesterday again.

--

_After the long silence that followed, Tsunade stood up hurriedly, knocking over her chair in the process. There was a twinkle in her eyes, and she looked rather pumped up with excitement._

"_Tenten!" she exclaimed loudly, "you will accompany Neji on his mission—!"_

_Horrified, Neji opened his mouth to disagree, when Tenten beat him to it._

"_Wait a minute!" Tenten interrupted, shocked by all means, "I have no duty nor obligations to your village! Therefore it is only by my consent whether I should go on this mission, and I _absolutely _refuse."_

"_That's right," Neji agreed, "she has no obligations to this village."_

_Tsunade seemed unfazed by this. "No obligations? Why, after our medics healed that ankle of yours? After we all showed you the best of Konoha's hospitality?"_

"_But this is exactly why I ran away from those sand-nins! I don't want to be… used!"_

"_Come on, my dear girl, Neji here is _absolutely_ hopeless," Tsunade said, gesturing at Neji's stiff form, "You would really, really help him with his mission, since he needs your help really, REALLY badly."_

_Tsunade then glared at Neji, as if mentally saying, 'Agree with me, or I'll kick your ass.'_

_Tenten turned to look at him doubtfully. "It doesn't look like he wants my help."_

"_Of course he does! Don't you Neji?" That terrifying glare was on him again._

"_Y-yes," Neji managed to say through his gritted teeth. "Please help me on my mission."_

"_Then it's settled!"_

_--_

"Tenten," Neji called to her. He sighed when she ignored him. _Payback, huh?_

Impatient with her games, Neji caught up with her with a couple of long strides and grabbed her by the wrist. "Tenten."

She looked at him huffily, irritated that he didn't let the game go on. "What, Mr. Grumpy?"

Neji blinked, but decided to ignore the nickname for now. "How is it that you know that the face of this criminal? All we know is that he wraps his head in bandages to keep from revealing his true identity."

Tenten half-smiled. "What did this guy do that was so bad anyways?"

"He ransacked many villages and killed many people," Neji replied in a cold tone, "And you have not answered my question."

Tenten's smile faltered. "I guess… I knew him on a… personal level."

"I see," Neji said.

There was a quiet, uncomfortable silence.

"Neji?" An almost inaudible sound.

"Hn."

"What is your mission _exactly_? ...I mean, what are you going to do when you find him?"

"I'm going to kill him," Neji answered without hesitation.

"Really? You're not even going to listen to his explanations first?"

Neji scoffed, "Explanations? He killed lives and it's time someone returned him the favor. Besides, why would he have _explanations_?"

Tenten laughed at his incredulous expression, "I don't know. I just thought, maybe you should hear the guy out first or something!"

"We're here."

Tenten looked around. They finally arrived at the small village's gate, and for that she was relieved. Without anymore words between them, they silently walked through dark streets, an eerie feeling creeping up behind Tenten. Unconsciously, she inched closer to Neji's side, their arms barely touching.

"You're right," Neji told her quietly, "We are being watched."

"By who?" Tenten asked, looking around, "It's so dark here… You'd think they never heard of lanterns!"

"They are watching from their windows," Neji answered, "from inside their homes."

"Why?"

"Hn… I'm guessing they are wary of travelers right now… After all, that criminal I'm after just swept through their village only a few days ago."

"You're hoping to find him hiding here?" Tenten asked.

"Hn."

A horrible chill crept up her spine, and Tenten whimpered. "Word's out, they've had ninjas follow us," Neji whispered.

"What are we going to do?" Tenten asked, "Fight?"

"Of course not," Neji replied emotionlessly, "Hold on to my arm."

Without question, Tenten obliged, and together, they entered a quiet building on the end of the street. An old woman with a strained smile and a suspicious stare greeted them. "Welcome," she croaked, "are you two staying for the night?"

Neji nodded, "Yes."

"Single room or separate?"

"Separate," they responded at the same time. Offended, they glared at each other.

The old woman's eyes traveled to Neji's left arm, which Tenten was still clutching rather possessively. Tenten, having noticed this, let go immediately and flailed her arms around, blushing. "No! It's not like that! Not like that at all!" Neji raised an eyebrow at her flustered action.

The old woman laughed, all suspicions erased. Without her glaring at them, she looked much kinder. "Please pardon me and also this weary village. An incident occurred not too long ago and we're all very cautious."

Neji frowned, "What happened?"

The old woman hesitated, but eventually responded, "The heathen stole a sacred item from our shrine! He stole a sacred scroll that had been once used by our ancestors. Until the day it was stolen, it had been the pride of the village." She shook her head sorrowfully.

"That's terrible," Neji said stoically, "what else did he do?"

The old woman blinked. "That's all he did, but was that not enough?"

"He did not harm any of the people?"

The old woman shook her head, "Not physically. But he might as well have struck us all in the heart!"

"He did not harm anyone? That's weird for killer, isn't it Ten—" Neji stopped talking, and looked around. "Tenten?"

"Oh, you're beautiful companion?" the lady inquired, "She left just a while ago to her room."

Neji frowned. _How unlike her._

_

* * *

_

...And review! How do you think this going? Good, bad, requests? Suggestions?


End file.
